colterphoto1 Posted November 15, 2005 Share Posted November 15, 2005 Just moved some goodies around in my home and my HK730, which appears to be in fairly good condition, is now in my office, where I do most of my daily listening. Love it's punch and tonal characteristics, but having some FM trouble. I've just got a 'zip cord' antenna hooked up, about 6' of split wire, which is all I ever used with my modern Yamaha receiver. Do I need more? When I go to tune in stations, the needle drifts back and forth and the STEREO light hardly ever comes on, even for normally strong stations. I've got a Terk PI antenna around here somewhere, might dig it out. Also, how do you read the crazy looking meter? It's got a sloped line numbered 5 and 10, which seems to inciated signal strength, but with a target-like sign on the lower left which is labeled fm max. quiet. Thanks. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted November 15, 2005 Share Posted November 15, 2005 Michael, I had a 730 for about a week, gotten for a friend of mine. It seemed to me that the receiver portion was weak on it as well. Everyone says the 430 has great sensitivity, but I didn't see it with the 730 model. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted November 15, 2005 Share Posted November 15, 2005 Well darn, ..that's a bummer the tuner drifting in and out. My Denon 685 receiver is cheap and the volume jumps in large increments when using the remote but the tuner is great. How does it sound otherwise with another source? Remind me never to buy one to use as a tuner......thank's for the heads up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted November 15, 2005 Author Share Posted November 15, 2005 Dont' give up on em yet. I'll swap out for a better antenna this afternoon. I'm just using zipcord of an unspecified length right now. Other than that, it's got balls to spare, the controls are noiseless, Loudness contour kicks butt. It sounds great with my iMac jukebox as source, Hi cut, lo cut, and MONO switch work beautifully. And the 730 has an FM muting button not found on the 430 to quiet the noise when swapping stations. M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted November 15, 2005 Share Posted November 15, 2005 I'm just using zipcord of an unspecified length right now. unspecified length huh? I found the longer the better. My receiver in the living room has about a 30' antenna wire coiled under a tapestry hanging on the wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted November 15, 2005 Share Posted November 15, 2005 730? sell it...to me that is...lol, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted November 15, 2005 Share Posted November 15, 2005 Other than that, it's got balls to spare Don't I know it! [6] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted November 15, 2005 Author Share Posted November 15, 2005 It appears that the meter works backwards. There is a 5 and what I thought was 10 on the right is actually 0, so you adjust the knob so the signal meter goest LEFT toward the target, then the STEREO light comes on okay. I'm still using zip cord cheapo antenae and got tons of signal- try it out 730 owners! THis is weird, but it's got great separation and low noise if I use this tuning technique. The 430 has the 'center' is correct signal indicator, so there is a little confusion as you move from one model to the other. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted November 15, 2005 Share Posted November 15, 2005 wow, that's wild! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny dB Posted November 15, 2005 Share Posted November 15, 2005 I'm listening to my HK630 @ work. The meters must look like the 430, because I have no idea what the heck you're talkin' about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted November 15, 2005 Author Share Posted November 15, 2005 Ok, lets' try with a photo. I zoomed and sharpened as much as I could from this recent ebay ad. THere is a strong vertical line on the left and a slanted line lower left to upper right. Whereas you would think that up the 'ramp' and to the right would be more signal strength, it is actually labeled '0' at the right side, '5' in the center, and 'fm max quiet' over the target pattern where the lines come together lower left. This is confirmed by the stereo light only lighting when the needle is to the left, and signal strength sounds best with definite stereo separation occuring. The lower scale is for AM and indicates target to the right, so the meter works in reverse for AM bands. How kooky is that? Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted November 15, 2005 Share Posted November 15, 2005 wow, that might be a pretty clever design because AM is a mono signal...almost as if needle to the right = mono and needle to the left = stereo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyC Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 Michael, you have discovered the same weakness that my now dearly departed 730 suffered. I have something like 45' of speaker wire coiled around the attic above the upstairs section of my house (put there by the previous owner) as an FM antenna and mine was fine with that, but the tuner was Noticeably weaker than my newer Pioneer BPC receiver. I still believe that with the 730 was the best my Heresies have ever sounded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 If you like one particular station you can cut the dipole antenna to resonance for just that frequency. This might inprove the fidelity of your reception. Pauln AD5FT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted November 16, 2005 Author Share Posted November 16, 2005 Well, I'm getting SOME of my fave strong stations in Stereo, not nearly as many as my modern Yammie brought in. Couldn't find the Terk Pi antenna, will look again tomorrow. I think the HK 430 has much better tuner section, so this might be relegated to house amp use or be sold. Sad, it's a ballsy unit otherwise..... Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricktate Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 Both of the 430 and 730 have a mute button and a knob on back to adjust the mute amount.Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted November 16, 2005 Author Share Posted November 16, 2005 Both of the 430 and 730 have a mute button and a knob on back to adjust the mute amount.Rick Do you have both Rick? Do you see what I'm talking about? And how do you tweak that mute knob? Maybe I don't understand FM tuning at all? Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 Michael- I have a large outdoor antenna in my attic that is many times better than any zip, folded dipole or magic indoor antenna. That enables me to get the local NPR stations (WDET Detroit & WUOM Ann Arbor) and CBC from Windsor, Ontario, Canada. I barely used the tuner on my H/K 430 before my son took it to college, so I have no experience. I haven't tried to tune the H/K 730 using other than the big antenna, so I can't offer any input there either. Eventually, the band director plans to try to test the ability of the H/K 730 to receive FM. That will be a challenge, as there are two floors of concrete and steel construction above the band room. They might be able to tap into a rooftop antenna or a cable signal. If we learn any secrets, we'll share them with you. If you figure it out, we'll profit from your efforts. I've attached a PDF of the H/K 430 Owner's Manual. It might help. If anyone has a PDF of the H/K 730 manual, please post it. HK340om.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricktate Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 Well i got both roof top ant. and use dipole, the dipole is picky about what way its postioned but sometimes it works better than my roof top ant....When i hooked my sons 430 up with dipole it got better signal on some stations than my 430 hooked to the roof top.Michael try making your dipole longer or just use some speaker wire and raise it up to the ceiling see if that does anything ,one summer i got on the roof and lowered the position of my roof top seems i had it inline with power lines and it works better now.The mute button and knob is just to keep noise down inbetween stations i usually dont use it i like to try new stations at night sometimes and the mute will cut them off.The signal strenth meter is different on 730 the farther to the left the better the signal.Hope this helps.Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted November 16, 2005 Author Share Posted November 16, 2005 "The signal strenth meter is different on 730 the farther to the left the better the signal.Hope this helps.Rick" yeah, that's the part I didn't understand at first. This is a great sounding little receiver, heavier than three modern jobs, really has some ballsy low end. I LIKE IT! Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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